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"as i was going up the stairs, i met a man who wasnt there"

a quote from a well known poem - but has anyone else noticed how often ghosts are encountered on stairs? there are photographs of ghosts on stairs, and so many hauntings describe people feeling someone brush past them on the stairs, or someone trying to push them downstairs.

i have heard that spirits are attracted to stairs because stairs are used by people to get from one level to another, and ghosts are trapped between planes. any thoughts on this? who else has seen or felt ghosts on stairways?

I meet a spook upon the stairs...
from: "Red Skeleton's Favorite Ghost Stories."

I too have heard this. Maybe it is us that we are more relaxed or subjectable at this time. It might be about the same reasoning about going down stairs to the basement and being scared.

i have heard this before but have never had the experience of it .

i believe it may have something to do with the progression from one level to the next ,seeing how stairs are as unpredictable as everything else on minute you could be ascending higher but in an instsnt you could easily plummet down them just as well .

this makes for an interesting subject though .

It's the first time I hear about this but it seems to be very interesting. In old cartoons, the characters always went to heaven on an escalator, up into the clouds..

People may encounter ghosts on stairs alot because a lot of people die falling down stairs.. So maybe thats why the ghosts are encountered on stairs alot....My opinion.....

i also wondered if it has anything to do with energy points - like doorways

a very good question!
I see this could go one way or another, or several different ways altogether!
I like the cartoon reference. It's true that the pass from earth to heaven/hell was depicted as a short escalator ride, so perhaps, as it was just stated by RavenKnight, as many people in the past have suffered a mortal fall on a staircase, then perhaps that plays on people's minds, or indeed, they HAVE come across "Death" or one of his associates, and managed to NOT succumb to his plans.

Is this why some superstitious people won't cross paths going up/down staircases?

Perhaps it's because by going up or down a flight of stairs you're forced to pay attention become more aware of what's going on around you.


After all, one false move and you may fall and break your neck. =)

i also belive that they may on some level think they are moving from this level to the next. maybe thats why we find so many on stairs. or stairs my really may BE a level to another plane for them.

I have always thought this is because it makes a good metaphor about how a ghost is typically unaware that it has passed.

It is when they know that they then can go to the next level or place. Although the more I think about it, I do like the idea of them being more of a porthole in time/space. It is an interesting thought.

The stories I have heard of the staircase haunts.. is mainly from those that have passed over from falling or of needing to step in to another realm..
Times I have heard or ghosly apparitions seen on stairs.. yet, SOME don't walk the whole staircase!!
SOME merely appear, and then disappear.. making just a glimpse.

I have YET to see a real ghost and I can't wait til I DO!

in feng shui, stairs are believed to be a strong source of bad chi, or harmful energy. if you believe in that sort of thing. i suppose if you look at what stairs are and what they do, you have the basic concept of what stairs are in the spiritual sense. all things have a spiritual existence, as it is impossible to have a physical existence without one. however, they are not quite the same on the spiritual plane as they are here.

i compared stairs to doorways earlier, and wondered if there are many ghosts associated with doorways too. i know of a few.

I would agree with ya my friend. I have seen or felt someone at my side, on the stairs of our old house.We can go on different levels mentally thru mediatation, etc.I visualize going down stairs when I want to get away from the world for awhile.Would make sense, spirits move thru different levels on stairs.

personally i havent encountred a "ghost" and i wouldnt have thought of stairs being a focal point,but perhaps as was said earlier they go to them because when used we tend to pay more attention as we travel up and down,and knowning this somehow,this is why they gather there

further to the mention of an escalator to heaven being common in cartoons, it reminded me of the huge stairway to the heavens in the film "Matter of Life and Death". also, the Led Zeppelin classic - stairway to heaven.

What an excellent question. I've never really thought about it before, but i suppose that it's more usual to see ghosts when we are relaxed and our minds are open to things they would usually dismiss. Therefore i would imagine a lot of ghosts can sense that just prior to bed time and make that time when climbing the stairs to makes themselves known.

from what i have heard and from what i have read. the most common places for a door way to the other plane where ghost tend to dwell. r and can be located on stairs. the reasoning for this is not clear. for i am not dead. how ever these passage ways can be found all through out a building or other place in the world. these feelings can increase when your house or your persons is near a ley line. these lines are like highways of otherworldly engery's that can effect the living if u are sensitive to there pull

Oh me, I did in an old house I used to live in as a child. My friend and I were very perceptive to the feeling that someone was there each time we past a particular spot on the stairs :)

Maybe because its easier to make themselves known, people go up and down stairs if there was a spirit there then you would have to go through the spirit maybe they gain energy or something along those lines

Hmm it is also bad luck to pass on the stairs, did you ever hear of that proverb?

I did, and in my old house we had a half landing and could never work out whether passing there counted?

Perhaps it has more to do with human psychology than anything paranormal. We are most often "surprised" by our surroundings when we are paying the least amount of attention to them. Those are the times when we are most likely to catch a glimpse of something from the corner of our eye, or have a sensation of being touched.

Climbing stairs, we usually do focus on the climb. We know in our minds that a mis-step could hurt us so we're paying less attention to our surroundings and more on what we're doing, than if we were just walking across a floor.

Just a thought....

I like your thought Birra, also when we see old movies and new ones too, they depict the cause of death as being a tumble down the stairs. (another thought, hmmm I wonder if this is why they designed bunaglows lol)

so many ideas - so many things to think about. i have heard that it is bad luck to pass someone on the stairs. several people have pointed out how climbing stairs might put one in a certain frame of mind. the most common form of haunting on stairs is the sensation that something is pushing you, or brushing past you - i wonder how often this is a reflection of anxiety or paranoia. Does anyone know of a ghost associated with lifts / elevators? as an enclosed space that travels between floors, this should foster the same sort of feelings and fears. however, an elevator would act like a faraday cage - so how would this affect a ghost?

I think "RavenKnight", has a pretty good opinion on this as far as stairs go. I encountered mine while I myself was sitting on a second landing of a stair well....the entity was actually up-stairs. Still others were not even IN a house!

ravenknight did make a very good point. people die on stairs. stairs are also used for suicide - i know a haunted pub where a former landlord hung himself on the stairs. maybe this ties in with the feng shui idea that stairs concentrate negative energy. a bit like the idea of it being unlucky to walk under a ladder. its dangerous, so its potentially unlucky.

Stair, doorway, near window they are all in betweens. Ghost are spirits stuck in between life and death. they are seen more clearly in place of in betweens.

It's funny that you mention this, because the ghost in my house that is bothering my dog is mainly on the stairs in the foyer. My friend and I have both cleansed the spots with smudge sticks and so forth. I really don't feel anything there only he does, my dog.

i have felt this feeling on stairs and in other places as well never thought about why but this is a very interesting thought to ponder

Wow, I've never noticed that but it is an interesting concept. I remember in the abandoned school behind my house (it was illegal to be in there, and its being torn down right now... I sure will miss that place) there were sooo many halls, rooms, and secret places or hidden places. One of my favorite being a very small flight of stares towards the back of the school. It was very dark stair way and it just... brought me confort. At the very same school there was a freaking scary stair well that led down to the boiler room... I couldn't go half way down there without stopping. And outside the school there was a kind of hidden stair way that I would confine myself too when heartbroken by my moms drunken rage (she's gotten better though). So now that I think about it... stairs play a huge role in the spirits... but in my life as well.

Ive heard so much of ghosts on stairs but never looked at it like that. I love VR for everyone's different thoughts. Most Id never think of. Thank you so much!

i have felt and seen ghost on stairs but i have never really thought about why they are there before

I would have to agree with this. While I've never actually seen a ghost on stairs, I have heard one. In the house I grew up in, when you sat in the living room at night, you could hear someone walking up and down the basement steps (they shared a wall with the living room). The man who lived in the house before us had a heart attack and died in the basement. Considering I was little at the time, it was a creepy thing to hear.

I have never seen a ghost on the stairs. And the photos that I have with clear ghosts are all in my room. Then again my room is full of them. But to think about it, many pictures I have seen of ghosts are in stairwells/cases.

Some spirits feel more comfortable in the between places. Stairs, doorways, etc....

i have never heard this b4 but now u have stated this i recall a heck of a lot of pic's this way. My encounter has never been on stairs always halls or in a kitchern guess they get hungry lol. i alway thought ghost appear next to children

I never really thought of it either & have seen alot of pictures with ghosts on stairways.

I know when I was a little girl I hated going down stairs that were closed off, were you couldnt see around the corner whilst you're going down, or up

Dark Greeting's,
I lived in quite a few haunted house's and Apt's.My grams house had a Ghost that walked the windeing staircase all the time and I've seen many spirits in doorways.I guess it's possible that they do go to another level ,that gives me a new thought to ponder.
Dark Blessing's,
KA

We're supposed to have a bunch of ghost round here.

One is half a roman centurion that walks along a main road. He's still walking along his old road level but over the years 'our' road level has gone up to his waist.

Could it be that the ghosts are existing at their original floor level and, by stepping on a stair, you are adjusting your height by those few millimetres necessary to put you at their level ?

i've heard about that centurion Art. i dunno about the chair idea. as you said, the road level has risen - most levels do, so to be on their level, you would have to stand in a hole, not on a chair. your point is still a good one though - many ghosts do seem to be unable to interact with any new architecture. to my mind, this is what makes imagination and faking less likely an explanation for ghost sightings. most people would not think about the ground level a few hundred or couple of thousand years ago, so arent likely to invent or imagine someone with the floor coming up to their waist or whatever.

Its possible they had been pushed or trying to gain that level they lost by going up and down the stairs... its a definite mystery.

some people think that ghosts are created by strong emotions and trauma, rather than the spirit of a dead person. this could explain why there are so many ghosts associated with stairs and doorways - there is often a sense of nervousness and a sense of urgency when we go down stairs. maybe this is enough to create a haunting. i fell down a flight of stairs when i was a child, and for years it made me terrified of going downstairs. i used to crawl down backwards until i was about six

felt? - nope, on the stairs I concentrate just not too fall down with my boots :D

and I think that stairs are a symbol from one level to another...yep that sounds pretty rational

the symbolism of stairs and different planes does seem to make sense. but are they going up or coming down? people often feel a ghost brush past them on the way down, so maybe they are keen to descend to an earthly plane because they have unfinished business here? just a suggestion.

Great thread and awesome theorys.... I live in a house that had a big closetin a hallway, I always had bad feelings about it at times I had to run past it, the feelings were so strong. I know strange but thats me.

Perhaps stairs are considered "betwixt and between". A gateway if you will

I encountered a ghost on my stairway a while back. it was rather interesting... and yes, i see what you are saying lord fangor, the stairway represents a gateway from one plane of existence into the next.

My mothers only ghost story took place on stairs. She said she saw a shadow going down the stairs late at night and followed it. There was no one there.

i remember years ago when i was living in a bedsit, i started to go up the stairs and i noticed a man hanging at the top, and it turned out that years before there were several deaths in the bedsit and a man hanged himself,

That feeling you get, when climbing stairs, that something is following you, is due to your spacial recognition. You are focused ahead, and your mind is trying to fill in the space behind. It will feel as if something is bouncing into you, or a soft mass of some type. I ain't one to gossip, but this is what I have been told. :)

Still on my different levels through the ages idea - stairs go down as well as up - so when you step down into say a basement, you could be stepping through the level of the old floor.

Its just my theory that you have to remove any physical differences before you can look at any sort of dimension differences.

Wow you know, I really never noticed that until you brought it up, but its true.

I really don't have an explanation for that, but now you've given me something to think about

I have never thought about this until now I could see where it could be that very reason :)

I do think that there are spirits who are trapped and cannot move on until the fulfillment of something. Stairs may act as a portal between dimensions.

That is the first time that I have heard that theory on ghosts being attracted to stairs. The explaination sounds kinda valid though. They are stuck between planes and stairs take you from one spot to another. I have never had an experiance like that though

although i have seen spirit, it has never happened on stairs, yet i have smelt spirt on stairs! i have no idear why!!

hmm, never noticed, what i'm wondering is who would carry a camera while going up the stairs

i like phoeniciandream's take on this if you add all the spiritul stuff ,and energy of stairs with the fact that you have a heightened scence of awarness while going up or down them and additionaly with the fact that your in a smaller somewhat enclosed area.the more positive factors involved the more likely a person is to notice something out of the ordinary.

I have never felt or seen any such thing however when my mom was pregnate with me she saw a beautiful young maiden dressed in a light pink formal dress

My god mother was with this guy who committed suicide in their house after murdering someone. She always claims that she sees him and feels him. Just recently, I was at her house and her current Boyfriend Donnie was pushed down the stairs and I was standing at the bottom... I looked up and I saw Kody, my god mother's ex and he just smiled at me and walked off. I helped Donnie up and kinda chuckled at what Kody had done. Kody was really cool. Even now he still loves to come into the room when I'm staying over and chill. He's just really jealous *giggles* He really loved my god mom alot, who wouldn't be jealous?

now that is creepy! i got chills reading that. i suppose that is another take on why ghosts like stairs - giving someone a little push whilst they are on the stairs is the easiest way to harm them. makes you wonder how many "accidental" deaths are caused by malicious spirits.

my b/f told me about an something that happned to him and a couple of friends one night. My b/f and a friend were staying at another friends house and they kept hearing a basketball outside they went out there and there was nothing. After this happened they went back in upstairs and heard it again. The next time they came down the stairs one of the boys at the top like came flying down the stairs and knocked everybody down them. He said he was pushed from the top. There was nobody else up stairs.

That would be interesting to find out... though I don't know any possible way that we could... I could see it now... "how'd he die" "a ghost pushed him down the stairs" and later that day they'd have the person ephed up on anti hallucinagens ect ect...

I have been looking through some listings of ghost and have noticed a large number of sightings on or near stairs this has got me interested I will set up some cams and see what I can get if anything :)

everyone is thinking there is a supernatural attractant to stairs maby they just want to exercise

Everyones input has been awesome here I feel that as it has been said several times that it is a place they feel comfortable wth as well as a level to another plane...

It has happened to e and yes i agree with the thought that ghost encounters happen on the stairs a lot it is because they are trying to get our attention.

maybe we are more aware of encounters on stairs due to the fact that we are more focused on our surrounding at that point rather then walking on level ground

i dont really think it has much to do with excersize. probly something to do with levels/realms and a little to do with confinement.

Karnstein
I heard this.. and thought I'd share it

It is alledged that it was pronounced bad luck to pass on the stairs.. Dating WAY back to The Roman Empire.. If the soldiers were charging down the stairs they would moreoften than not, be yielding a sword.. if you're an enemy, you'll be attacked (bad luck) if you're not an enemy.. you'll get trampled or perhaps attacked in the heat of the adrenaline of extreme defence (bad luck).

I think Ghosts like being between levels as they are in limbo

I have encountered the ghost of the lady who died in my house she lived there before me and i ran into her on the basement stairs

At my friends house they have a table next to the bottom of their stairs and theres always this.. well.. little girl sitting next to the stairs or on them (obviously a ghost)

Its funny but until now I didn't think of that

Ghosts tend to linger in and inbetween of some sort, like stairs they are inbetween levels of floos, door ways, as well as hallways, I too have waled up a stairs and met a person that really wasnt there, it was quite an expereince a thrill at that, I now seek a profession in ghost hunting because of it.

When I lived in the old house a year or so ago. I knew there were spirits in there just didnt know how many. Only could sence the one who hung himself in the closet. Well, when moving day came last Momorial day I was waiting for my boyfriend to come back upstairs when I heard and felt an old woman talking she told me how she had fallen down the stairs and asked me if I wanted to see how. Right when my boyfriend came in from out doors she gave me a shove and I fell a little but I didnt tumble to the bottom I was able to catch myself. I then told him later about it and then he decided it would be fun to mess with the one in the closet. Took a picture and behinde him in the picture was what looked like blood. I convinced him to stop so we went down stairs and played StarWars, not that it went too far he always makes me play with the green light saber when I like the Sith side better. --Ah sorry back on topic. Anyway, that was the first time I had ever encountered a ghost on the stairs so yep.

hmm that's interesting and it makes a lot of sense why spirits would be on stairs because of the levels and a feeling of being trapped in between the dimension of the living and the dead, however, I have had nothing like that happen to me on a stairway before.

I have heard that ghosts are attracted to repetition of shapes. It makes me think that stairs would fall into this.

stairs are a perfect projection of the 'struggle' to pass between levels of life. All the steps required to proceed them and the effort to take those steps.

I can't say that's ever happened to me.... hmmmmm...

are you so sure of that one think hard now

That is an interestin question. I have never really thought about it. I always have a weird feeling when I am goin up and down stairs. Sometimes I feel like someone is there with me.

I think sometimes ghosts are in limbo at times and repeat everyday activities that they did when they where alive.

i have noticed that ghosts are seen on stairs alot.
i think that ghost have a bond with places that they were acustom to durring theyre life. like stairs or hallways or whatever.

or maybe they had a tramatic experience on the stairs,

but, i agree with the 'in between levels' idea.

i always get a feeling something is on the stairs or at the top of the stairs i hate going up peoples stairs especially my best mates stairs as she actually took a picture of her stairs to show her sister there wa snothing there and there was a face on the picture. It was scary shuff and i dont like stairs at all for this reason. The ice cold feelings 2 it gives me the creeps.

i hear people walking up and down my stairs all the time

I've heard that ghosts are attracted to stairs only because they are frequently used by the living....but the idea that they are a means of traveling from one plane to the next is interesting.

Awesome thread...very interesting posts. I have never heard it put that way it's an interesting theory. However I have had experiences with stairs and spirits or ghost, but the one that had the most impact on me was when I lived in Germany back in the 70's. The story is way too long I don't want to kill the subject. If you are interested in hearing about it please message me and I would be happy to tell you.

I can see how the stairs would be a representation of what plane the ghost is on.... it makes sense... In my experience I never noticed one of my ghost on the stairs... However it was near the stairs.... It never tried to harm me in any way but I knew it was there... I think ghosts chill there so we can connect with them on a symbolic level and it makes sense to us...

i've never felt a ghost on a stairway before but the idea you have is an interesting concept. do you think that they are trying to get to the next plane by using the stairs? i guess that's plausible.

very interesting

I have encountered a few spirits I don't recall any of them being on stairs. Here's a thought maybe some people encounter them on stairs simply because there is less space on a stairwell to pass by without an encounter? ok on a humorous note that I couldn't resist maybe they are looking for the "stairway to heaven" lol

How odd. I've never really thought about it but you are right. I wonder if the stairways that the spirits are seen on were at one time part of a different structure?

Or maybe the stairs represent something else to the spirits who haven't passed on yet, but that we don't know about until we die?

I actually haven't thought of that before...but I would have to agree with those people. But other reasons could be how many people die on stairs from being pushed.

I, too, have heard of ghosts being attached to stairs. But I have also heard alot about ghosts being seen entering or leaving through doorways. I am not sure why this occurs. I have tried to research the question and have not come up with any definitive answers.

they natural flow of stairways may be the reason.If there atre stairs in a buliding they have probably been used by the person several times daily creating an open energy channel through the stairs so that after they pass away the stairs provide easy access just as anywhere else they spent alot of time while alive

how do you explain beings on stairs in new builds built on an old site?

the same way actually in a new building the living would create the pathways for the dead leaving their energy behind as they walk.Or perhaps the old building had stairs as well and the energy path was just simply moved to match who really knows these are just my opinions

I see ghosts being depicted on stairs more often but I think that is for stressing the point purposes. I have also seen tons of none stair ghost photos.

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